Before it's too Late
by Shinato202
Summary: Sandra Lyons starts to have visions of Draco Malfoy, who is performing grim tasks for the Dark Lord. Sandra is an Animagus and goes on an epic quest of love, hate and betrayal to find and protect Draco to the best of her abilities. Will it be enough?
1. Chapter 1

Half Blood Prince Era  
**Prologue**

_I was in the room again. The gloomy, confined room which constantly appeared to me for one reason or another. No matter how hard I shouted for help or banged on the walls, nothing would happen, no one would help. This time was different though. When I was about to hit on the walls, a ray of light shot through what I now assumed were the doors. After a few seconds, my eyes adjusted to the new light and there before me, I saw a boy who was just as bewildered to see me as I him. I'd never seen this person before. What was he doing here? He was a teenager who looked about seventeen. He had piercing grey eyes and strikingly white blonde hair. In the room behind him there was a load of junk and various items cluttered around the place. I only got a quick glimpse though.  
_

"Who are you?"_ the boy shouted in a British accent. His hand went straight for his pocket and took out a short branch which I knew immediately was a wand. I didn't know what to say, how to react because after all, I didn't know why I was here-  
_  
I gasped and fell to the floor, onto the dull, terracotta tiles which I knew were home. Mum was already at my side, her dull blue-grey eyes looking into mine.

"It's happening again isn't it?" she whispered even though no one was in the spacious, bright yellow kitchen. I could barely hear her over the various Irish birds outside singing their hearts out. I was so dazed at my last encounter that I just nodded.

"I thought you said you weren't having anymore of these visions," she muttered while pushing some of her greying hair behind her ears. I just looked at her blankly. I was too ashamed to say anything and if I did, I was positive nothing would come out. She nodded at me and pulled me up. When I was standing up she stroked my hair gently, "Oh, baby, it'll be ok."

I sighed at her, "Mum, I'm eighteen. I'm an adult you know."

She just laughed at me, "Well…. these visions are reoccurring for some reason. Let's find out why." I walked over to the sink and got myself a glass of water while mum ran off to her bedroom up the hall. I looked out of the kitchen window, onto the Irish countryside and I saw two Aethonans which one of the local neighbours bred. They obviously had the Disillusionment Charm casted on them in case of any muggle passer-bys. It was a sunny day too which was rarer than a blue moon in the west of Ireland. While I was staring at the chestnut winged horses, my mother had returned with two amethyst pendants which I had never seen before.

"Sandy, this is a band of dreams," she waved them in the air, the sun hitting off the jewels, creating various colours which were bouncing off the walls. "Amethyst is the gem of thoughts, so what we'll do is I'll put one on while you wear the other. We will entwine them together and with a fairly simple spell we'll see some of your visions. I guess it's the easy way out of using Legilimency."

I nodded at her in reassurance. I slipped the pendant over my head and tied it to Mums' one with the extremely long gold chain. Mum put her hands on my shoulders. "_Visum Somnium_," my mother whispered and everything went blurry.

_I was in the small room again but I felt my mothers' presence with me even though she was nowhere in sight. Within seconds of joining the vision, the door opened and the blinding light seared in. Once again, the young wizard looked shocked. It hit me just then that this wasn't a room that I was trapped in. It was a cupboard or some type of cabinet. "_Who are you?_" he shouted as he went to grab his wand. I said nothing, knowing that I was about to be awakening from this vision_...

_I opened my eyes, expecting to be back at home but no, I had entered another dream. It was a dream that I'd certainly not seen before. I was in a large room which was slightly dark except for the lights which were giving a light blue hue in the corners of the room. I didn't have a clue about where I was till I saw the toilet stalls. It was evidently a bathroom, but why was I here? I started to panic as I couldn't sense my mother here. Suddenly, the blonde haired boy stormed in right past me. He took off his navy jumper and threw it on the ground beside him. He was obviously stressed out as his hair was ruffled, as if tired. He turned on one of the taps and began to wash his face. He gripped the sides of the sink and began to hiccup. He started sobbing quietly into the sink for a few seconds but stopped abruptly when he looked into the mirror and saw me in it. He turned around and stared at me, with tears running down his cheeks. He was more than likely thinking 'what was I_ _doing in this bathroom?'. _"What do you want from me?"_ he whispered. I stared at him, shocked at all the pain I saw in his eyes. _

"I…. I don't know_," I said sounding apologetic. He was about to take a step closer to me when a voice interrupted the silence._

"What's wrong Malfoy? Guilt finally catching up with you?" _We both turned around to see a lad about the same age as me with short black hair and round glasses. I assumed that Malfoy was the boys' name that I was just talking to. He was talking to Malfoy and ignoring me. "_I know it was you who put the charm on the necklace and cursed Katie, no point in denying it_." I was taken aback when I heard that accusation but the boy with glasses kept talking, "_I wish I could say that you might as well give yourself up now but we all know that Snape would vouch for-"_  
_

"-Crucio_," shouted Malfoy while pointing his wand at the other boy. He jumped out of the way and the curse struck one of the many sinks which blew into smithereens.  
_

"Stop,_" I yelled but they were both launching spells at each other on opposite sides of the various stalls. I ran over to the black haired boy and kept shouting at him to stop. He completely ignored me and started to dash towards the top of the bathroom. Knowing what he was going to do, I ran up to the top where the cubicles ended and there I saw Malfoy. He was about to cast a spell but froze when he saw me. A split second later the other boy came from behind me._

"Sectumsempra_." _

_I screamed as I had no hope in dodging it but somehow the spell went through me and hit Malfoy. He was thrown back by the spell and went out of sight. A young female ghost came out from one of the stalls and flew out of the bathroom, screaming at the top of her lungs. The boy behind me just stood there speechless. Immediately forgetting how the spell went through me, I ran around the corner to see if he was ok.  
_  
And once again I was back at home. I sat there in front of my mother, breathless. It was the total opposite of an adrenaline rush I was feeling. I was full of worry and dread. "Did you see that?" I asked Mum. All she did was nod while taking off the necklaces and looking into the distance. It was awhile before one of us spoke.

"How many times have you seen that last vision?" 

"Never. What exactly happened?" 

"I don't really know. I have no doubt though that you need to go and find this Malfoy boy. Even if what we saw was just a scrap and these visions mean nothing. It worries me though that you're actually seeing events as they're happening." 

I stared at her in puzzlement and taking a deep breath I said, "What makes you think that?" 

She sighed and paused for a moment. She was probably choosing her words carefully.

"Well, it's only a wild assumption but I believe that what you saw just now was a current event. There's no way I can prove it but it's a gut feeling. Remember Sandra, there's no such thing as 'coincidences' in the magical world. There will be no harm in looking for him anyway."

I looked out the kitchen window, onto the lawn thinking of how I would possibly find someone only by knowing 'Malfoy'.

"How will I be able to find him? We don't have a clue on where to start," I stated. 

"Well, first of all we've got to point out the obvious. This Malfoy is British by his accent. He goes to a wizardry school-" 

"-and how did you suss that out?" 

Mum shrugged. "Well, Malfoy and the other boy were wearing the same type of clothes which I'm assuming is a uniform. Also to have such an array of spells, they definitely had to of been taught that. If they're in a boarding school or not we'll have to find that out. Without doubt, a reasonable place to start is in the British wizardry tabloids. The Daily Prophet may be the best. Go to a library today and look for anything about a Malfoy, ok?"

"I found it, I found it," I shouted excitedly the next day as I ran through the house to find Mum and Dad in the sitting room.

"Found what?" asked my Dad, pushing his reading glasses to the top of his balding head and looking away from his newspaper.

"The Malfoy person. His name is Draco Malfoy. His father had been convicted of being a Death Eater in the summer and is currently in Azkaban."

"About time that the British Ministry caught one of them if you ask me," Mum muttered while her eyes were drifting over to Dad. She got up from the sofa and hit him on the head.

"Christopher! Listen to your daughter when you just asked her something." 

"Okay, okay, but don't hit me again Karen," Dad smirked. "So that's good Sandy. Where is this Draco lad at the moment then?"

With a grin from ear to ear I told them, "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland. I contacted Professor Albus Dumbledore by owl earlier and he has already replied saying eagerly, that he wishes to have a private meeting with me in Hogwarts, in three days time."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1: Unexpected turn of events

With the cold wind against my face I saw the amazing school that was Hogwarts.

"One thing for sure is that it's way bigger than photos make it out to be," I mumbled to myself. I had seen pictures of it in the daily prophet but they were nothing compared to the real thing. It was obviously a castle before it became a school. I had never seen anything that could even compare to this. My wizardry school back in Ireland was… well a school. Hogwarts was a little like what you'd expect to see Dracula live in or something. The castle was nestled in a valley overlooking a lake that the sun rays danced upon at this time of day with the stunning mountains in the distance. I was simply awe-struck with the sheer beauty of the place. _This is what being an Animagus is all about. Being one with nature and stuff. _ With a small sigh I collected myself and walked up to Hogwarts.

As I walked in through the school, I saw many students staring at me. I felt as if I was goofily dressed here as I was wearing a relatively smart suit with heels and my light hazel hair neatly tied into a pony tail while all the students were in black robes with various coloured scarves. Even though it was spring, it was still a cold evening. While I was focusing on not tripping in my heels and making a fool of myself, someone shouted, "Do you need help miss?" I turned around and saw a young teenager with ginger hair and wearing a red and gold scarf.

I wasn't a hundred percent sure on where I had to go; just that Professor Dumbledore's office was in the south part of Hogwarts.

"Mmm, yes please. I need to go to Professor Dumbledore's office. Would you mind pointing me in the general way?"

"Ya, sure. Just go left and you'll see a gargoyle statue at the end of the corridor. Step on it and say 'Sherbert Lemon'."

I imagined the route he was talking about and nodded. "Ok, thanks."

"No problem," he said, and he started walking the opposite way, more than likely to his friends about 'Someone who wants to talk to Dumbledore'. I followed the boys' directions and as he had assured, there was a gargoyle statue which was about ten feet high at the far end of the hall. I stood between its' feet and waited for it to do something. I looked around to see if I could spot a button or something. For a moment I thought that the boy was just messing with me about this. _Oh wait he told me to say Sherbert Lemon._

"Ummm, Sherbert Lemon?" I said and without a moments hesitation the platform on which the gargoyle was placed started to rise like a muggle elevator. When it got to the top there was a door at the end of a small passage. Hesitatingly I walked up to the door and gave it a small tap. It creaked open slowly which to some extent gave me the chills. I walked in and it was a relatively small, round room with portraits of all sizes around the walls. A large oak desk was laid in the middle and behind it stood a majestic phoenix on its' perch.

"So, you're Sandra Lyons?" I jumped at the voice as I couldn't see where it was coming from. "Slightly… younger than I imagined, to be honest." As the voice said this, a man walked out from behind a bookcase at the other end of the room. He was a very old man with small round glasses and an extremely long grey beard which was nearly down to his waist. He had a crooked nose, piercing blue eyes and was wearing a deep purple robe. I shifted uneasily at the comment.

_What was he expecting? Someone as old as himself? _

"I apologise for my youth then," I muttered. _Oh… I don't think that was necessary. _The Professor chuckled.

"Miss Lyons, do not mistake my age for weakness, or your youth for strength." At that statement, I felt slightly lousy. "But we both know that is not why you are here, nor why I organised this meeting. Please sit," he said while motioning at the chairs in front of what I assumed was his desk.

I sat on one of the two old wooden seats which the red leather on them had softened over time. As soon as we were both seated, we started talking.

"So, in your owl, you said you had an urgent message for me. Tell me more." He interlaced his fingers together and at that moment I saw that one of his hands was completely scorched. I pretended that I didn't notice it and I took a deep breath.

"I've been having visions of a student in this school… involved in sinister things like curses and-"

"-which student may I ask?"

I looked around the room. I felt like I was about to have a panic attack even though there was nothing to be panicking over. It's not like I didn't know that answer.

"Umm, Draco Malfoy I believe."

When I said that, I was surprised that the Professor didn't even flinch at my 'allegation'. It was as if he knew about it already. His eyes left me and he stared at a ring on his desk. There was a long silence and I didn't want to speak as I didn't know what exactly I should say.

"Draco's in his sixth year, an intelligent but arrogant lad. He's relatively hostile to anyone outside Slytherin. His father, Lucious, has recently been convicted for being a Death Eater and, yes, Miss Lyons, I've seen Draco doing grim things also. He obviously needs help or guidance at least." I thought about this and sat back in my chair.

"Well, how would we give him help?"

"Honestly? He is out of my reach. He sees me as the enemy now because of his father. But you?" He paused and I stared at him wide eyed wondering about what he was going to say. "You are completely new! A stranger! If you could try and get close to him you could save him from-"

"-save him?" I sat up again in my chair "What does he need saving from? I just came so I could… I guess warn you about all this." I waved my hands in the air and with that the headmaster gave a small smile.

"Miss Lyons, I've seen Dracos' acts for quite some time. I've seen you coming to this office to 'warn me about all this'," he smiled. "And I've seen that if you try, you will succeed in this endeavour -"

"Endeavour? What's he in so much danger of?"

"Everything you've seen him doing, he has been doing it against his will. He's doing it for Lord Voldemort." Upon hearing the name, a feeling of dread swept over me. Voldemort, from what I knew, was a British wizard who had murdered dozens, possibly hundreds of people. Draco would be in serious harm if he was associating with him. While thinking about this and letting it sink in, I leaned on one of the arms of the chair and averted my gaze to the ring that the Headmasters' eyes kept drifting to which looked like it had suffered enough wear and tear to crumble at any moment.

"Look, Professor. I don't think I can do it. Draco has seen me in his dreams or hallucinations or whatever they are. Plus how can I keep an eye on him while I live in another country?" Dumbledore sat back and stroked his long beard.

"I guess we'd have to appoint you some spot within Hogwarts then."

I felt confused. _Well this wasn't what I expected_.

"Are you saying that I should become a maid or something?" The Professor stared at me blankly and started laughing hysterically which made me even more confused.

When he calmed down, he wiped a tear of laughter from his face and replied, "No, of course not. Well, you can if you want as the house elves wouldn't mind a hand here and there, but I was thinking more along the teaching lines."

"A teacher? But sir I'm not qualified."

"Well you are a witch aren't you? We wouldn't give you anything too harsh. Maybe an apprentice, just to keep an eye on Mr Malfoy. Give me a crash course on your magic skills so I can think of a suitable subject for you to teach."

I was absolutely stunned. _Are headmasters allowed to do this? _I wondered.

"Well… I'm an Animagus which means I can 'shape-shift' into an animal. It's not genetic though and I'm the youngest Animagus in Europe because it takes so long to master it. I also have a decent amount of knowledge on charms, jinxes, hexes, and spells. That's kind of it in a crash course, sir."

During my speech, he was stroking his beard. After thirty seconds or so he interrupted the once again silence. "So, what can you transform into?"

"A wolf, sir".

He gave a small chuckle. "Miss Lyons can turn into a wolf; would've expected a lion believe it or not. Well, I doubt Professor McGonagall would mind if you 'viewed' transfiguration for the senior classes."

My jaw dropped. "Are you actually allowed to do this? I'm not qualified or any-"

"Well sadly the Ministry has grown corrupt; in times like this my students come first and if I believe you are capable of aiding one of my students, Merlin's beard I'm going to take it." He stood up from his chair and put his good hand over the table. "Are we in agreement?"

I stared at his hand, when suddenly something came to mind. "Professor, I saw a vision of Draco and another boy duelling in some bathroom here. Do… do you know if he's ok?"

Dumbledore gave me a weak smile. "It grips me how caring you are to a student you barely know. Sadly though, Mr Potter casted a wicked spell and Draco is currently recovering from it in the hospital wing. He should be fully recovered though by the time you start working here. That's if, you're willing to work here." He still had his hand across the desk waiting for me to shake it so I stood up and shook it, giving him a warm smile.

"Splendid," he shouted. "You can start next week. Return home and get whatever you require. You'll begin on Monday." _That was…unexpected to say the least. _


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2: Shock

Later that night I returned home completely shattered from all the travelling I had done. As I was walking up to the front door I could hear roars of laughter. A small smile came to my lips because it meant one thing. _Violets here _

I entered the cosy house and placed my sophisticated briefcase on the small desk where Quinlann, my owl was resting. "Hello," I shouted through the house and immediately my sister Violet and dad came running from the sitting room to me.

"How did it go in the meeting?" dad said while giving me a bear hug.

"Where's mum and I can tell you then," I smiled and the moment I said that mum came in with Logan, Violets fiancé. When we all hugged each other and said our hellos we went into the sitting room where dad brought in some firewhiskey.

"So tell us about the meeting Sandy," smiled Violet. I assumed that mum and dad had told her because she apparently knew about it.

"Well. It was a success with a twist. I told Professor Dumbledore about Draco Malfoy and he agreed with me saying that he needs help and stuff. So… he said that I should become a trainer teacher in Hogwarts to keep an eye on him and I'll be able to help him if the occasion occurred."

Everyone stared at me dumb-struck. "A teacher?" said Logan leaning towards me. "How can a twenty year old teach magic to students?"

"Logan, that's exactly what I said but Dumbledore ignored me there. Saying that because I was an animagus, that I was capable of teaching transfiguration to the senior classes." I was positive that he grumbled something under his breath while taking a swig of firewhiskey but I paid no notice.

"So, when will you be going back to Hogwarts?" mum asked.

"I begin on Monday so I guess I'll leave for Hogwarts on Sunday morning." Mum gave me a nod of approval. "So what brings you here Violet?" I asked her.

"Oh, Logan and I are on a business trip for the ministry of magic so we thought that we should pop in and see you guys."

For about an hour, we were talking about random topics and laughing all the while. I looked up at the clock above the fireplace and it was nearly two in the morning. "Wow guys I better go to bed"

"Ya, we'll be off in a minute too," Mum smiled. I smiled back, said good night to everyone and went off to my room and fell asleep within minutes.

_I was in a tower, all alone. The chilling wind was strong and the deafening silence in the night was frightening. When I looked out into the distance I saw a lake surrounded by mountains. I knew straight away that I was in Hogwarts. However the view in the darkness was very unsociable. Suddenly two wizards flew onto the tower with battered broomsticks in their hands. I knew one was Dumbledore and then to my surprise I saw that the other wizard was the one who attacked Draco in the boys' bathroom a few days ago. I was about to run over to them but I understood that none of them could see me here. They would've reacted somehow if they could. The professor collapsed and the other wizard looked helpless, even guilty for whatever had occurred. Harry helped Dumbledore back to his feet when we all heard a door bang loudly in the near distance. _

"Harry, Go downstairs and stay there. Make sure you're not seen_." Harry looked at him hesitatingly. Dumbledore took out his wand and quickly used a binding charm on Harry. He fell to the ground loudly. Dumbledore looked at him regretfully and got a clock and covered Harry with it. Just like that he had disappeared which I pointed out to myself must've been an invisibility cloak. Dumbledore stood up and looked into the distance and then he heard another noise and turned towards the staircase. I turned around too and to my horror I saw Draco coming to him with his wand pointed at Dumbledore. Draco saw me too as he stared at me wide-eyed for a split second then kept looking at Dumbledore as if he was thinking I was a figment of his imagination. _

"Who else is up here? I heard you talking to someone," _Draco commanded. I was just staring at Draco. What was he up to?_

"Oh I tend to talk to myself on nights like these Mr Malfoy." _I was really confused, what he was up to? Whatever he's doing he is clearly petrified over it. _"Draco if you must finish me then I-"

"-Expelliarmus," _Draco casted and disarmed Dumbledore, throwing his wand across the room. "_Draco! What are you doing?" _I shouted_. _I knew he heard me as he flinched but never replied. He was looking more and more scared by the second; because of the thought of harming Dumbledore and the thought that he was possibly schizophrenic I didn't know. _

"Draco, I can't help but think these are amateur tactics, cursing a necklace and poisoning a drink made for me." _He paused for a brief moment._ "Draco… years ago I knew a boy who made all the wrong choices, please let me help you-"

"-I don't need any help see." _He pulled up the sleeve of his shirt and showed Dumbledore a mark, a death eater mark. Just seeing it made me want to retch. I felt like I was about to faint. _"I'm the chosen one. Don't you understand, I have to do this. I have to kill you … otherwise they're going to kill me," _he said weakly. I knew he was feeling the same as me right now but sadly he was ignoring me. For about another minute they were actually talking about Dracos' antics throughout the year, including repairing a vanishing cabinet which was linked to some shop in diagon alley. Dumbledore didn't even make any notion of getting his wand again, maybe because Draco had his wand pointing at him. I doubted that Draco would do anything though even if Dumbledore had walked across the tower to retrieve his wand. I had learned though that all Draco seemed to do all year was assassinate professor Dumbledore which was horrific._

_Dumbledore looked at him with sympathy then four people appeared from the staircase and I could hear people yelling downstairs. If looks were anything to go by, these guys looked like death eaters. I took a step back and took my wand out of my pocket and pointed it at them. A middle aged man came out among them with long, knotted black hair and a smile which would haunt Godric Gryffindor himself. He limped over to Draco _

"Good job, now finish him,_" he whispered into Dracos' ear. He was still standing in the same place with his wand pointed at Dumbledore, hesitating to cast the forbidden curse. _"Draco, if you don't do it now, I will," _he shouted. I stared at him, trying my best to blink back the tears. _

"Draco, don't… please don't," _I begged to him from across the room beside Dumbledore. He looked at me, for the first time here. His eyes were full of fear, resentment, and sorrow. _

"Greyback, these orders were given to the Malfoy kid. The dark lord wouldn't be too pleased to learn that you had done his task," _said one of the other death eaters; this one seemed to have an aura of power around him though as the Greyback person begun to step back._

"Enough," _said a new voice. Everyone but the Greyback turned around and there was a man in black robes with greasy black hair. _"I will do this assignment," _he said in a slithery voice. _

"Severus, please…" _Dumbledore begged quietly._ _He walked up to Dumbledore, took out his wand and said the dreadful words, _

"Avada kedavra,". _There was a green light and then Dumbledore fell off the tower. My heart was in my mouth. If the spell didn't kill him the fall defiantly would. Dumbledore…was dead._

_Tears were streaming down my face; I turned to Draco who was staring at the spot where Dumbledore just stood. He then looked at me, completely traumatised by the event. The man who had just killed Dumbledore took Draco by the shoulder and pulled him down the winding stairs. _

Then I woke up in my room. Sweat beading on my face. _Did all that just happen? _I opened the curtains of my bedroom and it was still night. The skies dark as another wizard had sadly met an untimely end. Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards of our time, was killed, murdered. My heart was racing. I got up and went to my parents' room. I knocked on the door and walked in, knowing that they were fast asleep. I felt like a six year old all over again, going to my mum and dad after a nightmare. _A nightmare_ I frowned. "What?" mum groaned lazily as it was early in the morning and she twisted in her bed. My voice was shaky and I was on the verge of crying.

"Mum…Dumbledore's dead." 

**Hope you enjoyed that. Please Review for some motivation **


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter is just a filler for Sandra to get to Hogwarts and stuff. Hope you enjoy it though and please don't hesitate to give feedback. Shiny xxx**

Chapter 3: Letters

The next morning was horrible. I was still extremely shook up from last night's experience. Mum told Violet and Logan and they were worried for me but had to leave on their business trip. Everyone was worried for me. As expected, we discovered that the front page of the daily prophet was about the death of Albus Dumbledore. The press always worked fast in the Wizardry world.

Even though the day dragged on I couldn't stop thinking about Draco. Lord Voldemort was evidently the one who commanded him to do it but why? Of all the people in his arsenal, he told a young boy to kill the one of the strongest wizards of our time. It made no sense. While I lost in my thoughts in my bedroom I heard my mum shout, "Sandra, mail." _I never get mail _I thought. I ran down to her in the kitchen and she handed me a letter which was stamped by wax in the middle. "The ministry?" I was about to open it and it floated out of my hands and started to talk. It was saying what was written in the letter; clearly a spell the ministry used loads.

Miss Sandra Lyons May 1997

Professor Albus Dumbledore notified the ministry of magic recently that you were hired to become a temporary transfigurations teacher and were to commence on Monday. Albus Dumbledore was to clarify this, this weekend. Sadly, due to the unexpected death of the Hogwarts headmaster, you will not be permitted to teach in Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry until a new headmaster has been appointed. This will not occur till early August and therefore the earliest you will be able to teach in this school is in September of this year. You will receive notification of your post in September. Until you obtain this, you will not be allowed to teach in Hogwarts.

Yours Sincerely

Rufus Scrimgeour

When the letters' magic faded, I read the letter again and again, my hands shaking with anger. It couldn't be true. Mum was looking at the letter over my shoulder. _The earliest I'll be able to be in Hogwarts is four months away. Lord Voldemort could do a lot in four months. _

**Deathly Hallows era**

Before we knew it, it was September. I remembered saying in May how Voldemort could do a lot in four months and that he did. His biggest feat was recently claiming the ministry for his own. We're not sure how he exactly did it but they were at his command. He made many various laws which were outrageous. A few were that every young wizard and witch must attend Hogwarts; every 'mudblood' had to go to the ministry for questioning to see if they 'stole' the magic they had. Another one was that Harry Potter was 'undesirable #1' and it was required that he's alive. Voldemort had also taken over the daily prophet which plagued the minds of nearly everyone. Giving the public doubts about their once strong beliefs. Since then though a British wizard by the name of Xenophilius Lovegood has started an honest newspaper named "The Quibbler" which completely supports Harry. There some of the many things Voldemort has done over the summer.

Not a lot has happened here at home. The only thing that has changed for me is that I now have a fringe which is obviously petty. I keep seeing Draco, mostly in my dreams. It's a constant reminder of the danger we're all in. There mostly about scenarios he's in. Luckily not to the extent of the one that had taken place in May. A random thing like death eaters in and out of what I believe is his house. Voldemort resides there too. I've not had any visions of him though since Hogwarts begun once again earlier this month. I let out a sigh and once again waited for the mail. All month I've waited for an owl to come with a letter of approval for entering Hogwarts, but due to the ministrys' corruption, I doubt it will happen at all.

Once again, I waited at the front porch with the glass doors open. Even though the sun was out, it was cold. Later on in the day, my heart skipped a beat as I saw a strange owl fly towards the house. I stood up as the owl got closer. When it landed, it dropped a letter on the floor in front of me and flew away. I picked it up and it was for me which was a good sign. The wax stamp was different though. I didn't recognise it. I opened the letter and left it at arms length, expecting it to talk again but after a minute of silence I assumed it didn't. I began to read it.

To Ms. Lyons September 1997

You applied for temporary transfiguration teaching which was postponed earlier this year due to unforeseen circumstances at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The ministry has lifted this and you have now been approved to educate students in Hogwarts for transfigurations. We will expect you in Hogwarts and ready to teach on the 30th of September. You may arrive on the premises any date between now and then. When you arrive, seek Mr Argus Flitch, caretaker of Hogwarts to bring you to your accommodation.

Yours truly,

Severus Snape

Headmaster

A small smile came to my lips; the thirtieth of September was my birthday. So Severus was now headmaster. He was the monster who murdered Dumbledore and now he was headmaster of Hogwarts. Sadly though, the ministry were probably aware of this but since it's been taken over, no one would dare accuse him. I shrugged off the grim thought and with that I close the porch door and got ready to go to Hogwarts.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4: Draco

I arrived in Hogwarts two days before I was due to teach. I thought it would be a wise idea so I could get use to the place and not lose my way to my classroom. As I walked up to the colossal wrought iron gates I saw a rheumatic, hunchbacked man on the opposite side with a rough looking cat in one hand and an oil lantern in the other.

"Are you Miss Lyons?" wheezed the middle aged man.

"Yes, and I'm assuming that your Argus Filch."

He nodded "Call me Mr Filch please". He lowered his cat to the floor while he opened the gates from the inside. As the gates slowly creaked open on their own accord, Mr Filch motioned for me to enter. I was dressed more casual for this occasion. I was wearing some flared jeans, blue t-shirt, long indigo jacket and runners with my exceptionally large suitcase floating behind me. "Professor Snape has asked of you to meet him in his office when you enter while I bring your suitcase to your room," he croaked while we walked towards the castle with the gates closing behind us.

"Of course Mr Filch." I smiled.

It was an exceptionally cold night with the clouds hiding the stars. The castle wasn't far ahead and visibly booming with life. Lights appeared from every window of the castle and gave it a warm feeling. While we were walking, Mr Filch was telling me about the different houses and gave me a crash course on each one. Both of us entered through the main door and the atmosphere had erupted with laughter and chatting. "That's the great hall" Filch grumbled. "It's where the students and teachers eat and have meetings."

I took a mental note of it knowing that I'd obviously have to remember it. He brought me to the gargoyle statue and stood in front of it. "The password's 'Dumbledore'. While you're in there, I will bring your suitcase to your room. The headmaster will tell you where it is when you're finished up there."

I thanked him and enchanted the case to follow Filch until it reached its destination. He seemed to recoil at it following him like a predator but I took little notice. I said the password and made my way to the new headmaster.

"Miss Lyons. It's a pleasure to finally meet you" said Snape. He rose from his desk and we shook hands.

"It's a pleasure to be here sir". Just looking at him made my skin crawl, thinking of what he had done just a few months ago but he seemed unharmed by it. _Sandra, act professional. You don't want to get on his bad side_.

"Miss Lyons, I've brought you here because there has been a …change in your schedule."

I didn't know what he exactly meant by that but I was immediately on edge and was tempted to grab my wand which was in the inside pocket of my jacket. However my thoughts were interrupted by the door. I turned around and saw a squat and lumpy man with short black hair walk into the room. "Oh, Professor Carrow, I'm glad you're here, saves me two conversations," Snape said to the man. Carrow looked at him with confusion. I was slightly relived because I was now certain that I didn't need my wand. "I have decided that instead of teaching transfiguration Miss Lyons, I think you should teach defence against the dark arts to the senior classes with Professor Carrow here."

"What?" Carrow and I said in unison.

"Severus, I must argue with this. I was appointed their teacher for the year and Merlins' beard; you're not going to stop me."

"Amycus, it is not your place to decide. You will still teach your subject to the junior years and Sandra, if it's ok with you, would you teach defence against the dark arts to the seniors?"

I stared at Snape. He was clearly planning something as why would he change my post so suddenly and deny his friend a few classes. "umm, ok," I answered. I knew it was a foolish idea on my behalf but hey, it can't be any harder than me teaching transfigurations.

"Excellent." Snape said. "Amycus, you are now dismissed and Sandra, I will escort you to your accommodations". Carrow left muttering something under his breath while Snape and I walked out of the office. We were both silent for a minute but then I decided to ask him about that conversation.

"Sir, why did you change your mind on what I was going to teach here?"

"I believe you would be more suitable in the defence class. If I'm proven wrong, tell me and I will more than happily appoint you as transfiguration teacher again."

We were once again silent until we came to a grand oak door. "This will be your accommodations. To give you a general insight on where you are, right below you on the ground floor is the Slytherin dungeon. You should be able to find your way anywhere from students around the place and I warn you to take no notice of peeves who is our poltergeist. He's just a pain who won't depart from the school."

I would have giggled if it was a more humorous person who said it but he was just so dreary, you'd swear he was a dementor except that the air didn't get colder but he sure sucks out all the happiness in everything. "Dinner in the great hall is over but if you go to the kitchen just below it, the house elves will make you something. To get in you'll have to tickle the pear on the fruit portrait, you can't miss it. If that's all, I'll be off."

"Yes and thank you." I smiled. He gave a curt nod and walked back to the headmasters' office.

I remembered my way back to the great hall and to the right I saw a narrow staircase. As I walked down it, I noticed that it stopped on a platform half way where the portrait was, it continued down too where many students from Hufflepuff were walking up and down. I'd inspect that another day as I was famished. I tickled the pear as Snape had said and it turned into a door knob. I opened it and inside I saw about twenty house elves working at various counters. "Hello missus, Do you need anything?" screeched one of the small elves.

"Yes, anything to eat really." The elf nodded and escorted to me on of the seats. There was a small wooden table with about ten stools around it. Within minutes one of the elves came over with a platter to bread and various pieces of fruit.

"If you want a proper dinner, we can cook you one" bowed another of the house elves.

"Oh no thank you… … … umm"

"My name's Winky" he smiled shyly.

"Hi, my name is S-"

"-Sandra Lyons, we know, us elves do anyway." Winky said with a cheeky grin and skipped away to finish the rest of his duties. When I took a chunk of the bread my taste buds exploded. Until then, I didn't realise how hungry I was and the bread was lovely anyway. _I could get use to this _I grinned.

When I had finished, I let out a yawn and thanked all the elves who all waved me goodbye. They were so friendly that if the students were anything like them, it was going to be a great class.

It immediately dawned on me that Draco was in this school. I was standing outside the great hall, thinking of what to do. _Should I maybe go and see him? No I can't, can you imagine how freaked out he'd be? Then again though is it wise on letting him find out when we're all in the classroom. _I decided to go and find him now. I assumed that he would be in the Slytherin common room so I started making my way. I wasn't positive on where it was but I knew that it was just below my room so I walked in the general direction of my room.

I got to the end of the corridor and I saw a dead end. Well not necessarily a dead end but there was a spiral staircase at the right side of the wall and that was it. I was about to turn back when I remembered that Snape had said that that it was called 'Slytherin dungeon' so this looked like an appropriate place. The dull lighting made it look more like a dungeon anyway. When I looked around I couldn't find anything. No door, no portrait, nothing. _Maybe I have gotten the wrong place. _"Can I help you?"

I jumped as I thought I was alone, I turned around and saw to my surprise, Draco and he was just as astonished to see me, maybe even more. He took a step back from me. "Who, Wha, Why-"

"Can we find a place to talk?" I asked warily. He paused for a moment, took a deep breath and nodded. He walked up to the wall in front of me, beside the staircase and placed his hand on it.

"Parseltongue," he said and by an enchantment, the wall started to crumble away and behind it was what I assumed was the common room. It was completely deserted though. "Everyone is either at the great hall or in the library so we have about twenty minutes in here."

It was a low-ceilinged, dungeon like room with greenish lamps and low backed black and green chairs. He took off his Slytherin jumper and collapsed onto one of the chairs. "You got a fringe," he smiled weakly. I didn't know what he was on about but then realised and looked up at my long fringe I got about a month ago.

"Yeah" I smiled.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Sandra Lyons."

He nodded and looked away. It was erringly silent for a minute. "What are you doing here?" I sat down on a chair opposite him.

"I'm here to help you."

At that moment he seemed to of snapped. "For Merlins sake, I don't need any damn help."

I was taken aback at his easily acquired anger and frowned. "Draco, we both know that's a lie. I've seen your thoughts and dreams, hopes and fears for the last few months. Until you're guaranteed a 'happily ever after' I'm not leaving." He stubbornly crossed his arms so I continued talking. "And whether you like it or not, I'm teaching here for the rest of-"

"-You're bloody teaching here? What?"

"Defence against the dark arts with Professor Carrow," I stated.

He sat back in his seat and calmed down abit, more than hopefully accepting that I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. He ran his hands through his blonde hair. "How are you a teacher? Are you even older than me?" I wanted to tell him badly that it was all to help him but he seemed to have no interest in that, at least for now anyway.

"Well I'm an animagus. I applied for teaching here and Professor Snape gave me the position about two weeks ago." I was strict on keeping it at that so I could keep my facts straight later on. Draco rested his chin in his hand and stared at me intently.

"How come I kept seeing you at various things?"

I looked away from Draco and I was positive that he was following my gaze onto the floor. "Really… I don't know." when I looked back at Draco, he looked away. We were both quiet again for a minute or two. Draco sat up "Honestly, I'm kinda glad you're here. Means I'm not crazy". I gave a small chuckle. If it wasn't for the last statement, it would've been touching.

About a second later, two lads barged into the common room laughing but stopped abruptly when they saw me. "Uh Draco… Who's this?" one of the boys asked worryingly.

I looked at Draco who stared at me and looked completely confunded so I said, "Sorry boys, I'm a new teacher here and I got a little lost and I was just asking your friend here if he knew the directions to the ... What's it called…? Slytherin head office."

"Oh that's just upstairs," said the smaller one, "Want me to bring you there?"

"It's ok Crabbe; I'll bring her," interrupted Draco "You guys have gotta revise for your charms test tomorrow anyway."

"Ok, see ya in a few minutes Draco," said the taller one and they both walked off to the dormitories. As we both left the dungeon, Draco let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank Merlin, you thought of that. I would've been completely screwed." I simply laughed at him and started walking to my dorm. We arrived at the Slytherin head office quickly and I now knew where I was as my room was only up the hall.

"Also, what's your animagus form?" he asked as we were walking back to my room.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." I smiled at Draco who was staring at me. I think he realised as well as he quickly looked away. When I got to the door to my room, I turned around and thought Draco looked like he wanted to ask me something but thought better of it. He merely smiled and said "Goodnight Sandra."

I smiled at him and opened the door. "Goodnight."

**While walking back to the Slytherin dorm Draco stopped and turned towards you. "Review please," he whispered.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5: The first D.A.D.A class

As I walked up to the defence against the dark arts classroom I could hear students shouting at eachother. Professor Carrow was waiting outside. I was relieved that he was there so we could go in together and it would be less daunting. I walked over to him but he gave me a snarl. I slowed my pace abit and Carrow walked over to me.

"Miss Lyons, I've decided that it would be a brilliant idea if you taught these students on your own," Professor Carrow proclaimed. I raised my eyebrows in shock. _Was he kidding? _It wouldn't be too much of an issue but trust my first class in Hogwarts to be the seventh years. Apart from being the eldest, Draco was on the other side of that door.

"Are you serious Professor?" I asked.

Carrow looked taken aback. "Of course I do, in fact, I think I'll give you all my senior classes for this week and see how it goes." My jaw dropped open. How was I supposed to teach students magic when I had no time to think about it. Was the Headmaster aware of this? He more than likely was. With that Carrow walked off and left me alone. I felt nervous so before going into the classroom, I decided to take my mind off it for a minute to calm down.

I had yesterday off and with that I had a nice exploration of the school and the grounds. The students were exceptionally polite and through various students I talked to, I learned a lot about the Hogwarts houses that Mr Filch didn't tell me. To put it in a nutshell, Gryffindor were brave, Hufflepuff were friendly, Ravenclaw were intelligent and Slytherin were cunning and the least favourite. I now knew my way to anything on the first three floors and in addition, I knew the way to the D.A.D.A tower. I also had time to learn all the teachers' names. I stood infront of the door to my classroom. I knew I couldn't avoid teaching on my own now. My heart felt like it was racing two hundred beats per minute. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

Immediately, everyone stopped talking and casting petty spells to see who had just entered their class. _Be calm, cool and collected _I kept saying to myself. Without a moments hesitation I walked up to the blackboard announcing myself. "Hello. My name is Professor Lyons and I will be your defence against the dark arts teacher for the remaining of this year." _The year? Oh I hope not _As I wrote my name on the blackboard I felt nervous. I could feel the eyes of students bearing into my back. It was… daunting to say the least.

"Miss? Where's Professor Carrow?" one of the students asked. I turned around to see a girl with long blonde hair with her hand in the air.

"Oh, he's still here but I'm teaching the senior classes for a while, he might pop back in now and again. I won't answer any other irrelevant questions until the end of this class."

I looked at the class and saw several students at the back having their own conversation. "Ok, I'm gonna teach you something that I doubt any of you have ever done before. So, will everyone stand along the wall at the back there while I make this classroom more appropriate for duelling." About half of the students shot up immediately as they went towards the wall at the far end of the class. As they were walking over, I tried to memorise each of their names as Professor McGonagall gave me a scroll yesterday of all the students names. "Boys, no shoving," I shouted over the noise they were making while laughing. I casted a simple spell that pushed all the chairs and desks along the walls so there was a wide isle in the middle about three metres wide.

"Neville, you up for some duelling?" I asked Neville Longbottom. He looked at me with curiosity but shrugged and strolled over to me. "Ok, when duelling against me, anything goes except the forbidden curses. Formalities first before we duel," I stated to everyone in the class while Neville and I both bowed to eachother and took ten steps away from eachother. "Can someone count to three?" I asked as I wanted to be fair on Neville. I heard Crabbes' voice announce loudly, "One, Two, Three." and before Neville had turned around I casted my spell. "Expelliarmus!" and his wand flew behind him and landed among the students. With Neville disarmed, he was helpless and raised his hands. I still had my wand pointing at him. "Abracadabra," I said. Neville winced and looked around, waiting for something to happen.

I finally lowered my wand and shrugged at the audience. "That's my version of the forbidden curse because we obviously can't cast it but sadly death eaters wouldn't give it a moments hesitation." Neville bowed his head in shame. "Now, can you guys tell me what happened there?"

"Neville got his butt kicked by a girl," shouted a lad with an Irish accent which I assumed was Seamus Finnegan and everyone laughed. Even Neville gave abit of a chuckle.

"Well, yeah, that happened but what else?"

"You disarmed him," said Anthony Goldstein questionably.

"Exactly." I pointed at him. "I disarmed Neville and without his wand, he was in a word, screwed."

I could hear a few girls giggle but continued with my lesson which was so far, going well. "Now Neville, We'll have another duel but I want you to disarm me. I won't retaliate or anything. Ok?"

"Ok Professor" he nodded. Hearing him call me 'Professor' was slightly funny. It was the last thing I would have expected to be called at twenty years of age. Neville and I did the same routine and when Crabbe did his countdown, I spun around but Neville had beaten me to it.

"Expelliarmus," he shouted and my wand flew out of my hand, into the air and behind the blackboard. He seemed proud of himself and lowered his wand and turned around to his mates who were cheering at him. I quickly glanced over at Draco who by his smile knew that I was up to something, which Neville had clearly forgotten about. With a sly smile at Draco I cast out my hand "Arduus accio Neville's wand," and humorously Neville's wand shot out from his hand as if it were soap and landed into mine. He stared at me in pure shock as, once again, I had a wand and he was completely defenceless.

With an evil smile on my behalf I whispered "Abracadabra." Neville stood still while the other students cheered and applauded me.

"Combat one-oh-one Neville. Never turn your back to your opponent unless they're petrified, unconscious or dead," I stated to him while returning his wand to him. "Now, what happened there?" I asked them as I ran to the top of the classroom to get my wand.

"Neville got his butt kicked by a girl again," Seamus laughed with his mates while I sighed at him.

"Mr Finnegan, I advise you not to say that again because I'd bet a hundred galleons that every girl here would destroy you in a duel." He closed his mouth at once. "If only it was that easy to get mandrakes to shut up." I smiled and some of the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins were laughing their heads off.

"What I did there was an 'adfico' spell. This is a type of spell that doesn't require a wand. What is the reason for wands anyway?"

"Uh, to cast spells," said Megan Jones.

"No, not really. Wands are used at simplify and magnify our spells. This is because of the core within our wands. My wand for example, is dragon heartstring and cypress. If it didn't have the core, it'd simply just be a branch."

"Wands made of cypress are for dark wizards" said Gregory Goyle who gave me a smug grin. I raised an eyebrow to him.

"That's an extremely stereotype view Gregory. That's like me saying all Slytherins are complete gits." He looked taken aback and had no comeback. _Second person I got to shut up today. I'm on a roll_.

"Ok, back to my lesson. You don't need a wand to cast spells though. The magic that runs in your veins can power a spell and sadly, this is where is pureblood and mudblood scenario comes into play. That's for another class though and possibly another teacher. The reason wands were made though was to be able to cast complicated spells. Adfico spells are only used as a last resort and for very basic spells. You should never try anything more complicated than what you learned in your first year here. If you were even to cast Alohamora without a wand you'd faint, no doubt about it because an adfico spell will cost about twenty times more the energy it would take to do the action in the first place. So you could imagine the damage a patronus would do."

"So when I casted accio at Neville the energy it took, cost me the same as walking to Neville, taking his wand and walking back here twenty times." The students looked completely awestruck by this new division of magic. I looked behind me at the clock and saw that there was only five more minutes in class. "Ok guys, put everything away because class will be over in a few minutes and I'll teach you how to cast an Adfico spell in the next lesson we have. Anyone got any questions about today while we're waiting?"

"How old are you?" asked Dean Thomas. A few random students laughed at the joke and I gave a small laugh too.

"I'm twenty."

"Then how are you a teacher? You're way too young," Seamus stated. I thought about it for about five seconds.

"The question isn't what age are you? It's how long have you been that age?" and I saw a few Ravenclaws' jaws drop. I was on the verge of laughing. They more than likely assumed I was a vampire or something.

By perfect timing, the bell tower rang for next class. I walked away from the students as they started walking to their next lessons. I went to my desk and picked up a copy of the muggle classic "Jekyll and Hyde" and while leaning against the desk started to read it. My reading was interrupted when I heard someone clear their throat. I looked up from my book and saw Draco at the door. I placed my book down and crossed my arms. "Can I ask you something?" asked Draco.

I smiled and walked over to him at the door. "Of course, what's wrong?"

He ran his fingers through his hair. "You said that the question was 'how long have you been that age?' but I didn't think animagi stayed at an age or whatever."

"You're right, they don't," I stated to him.

He stared at me as if I had ten heads. "But you said to them that-"

"-Oh I was just saying that to give them something to think about. They might even go to the library and look up werewolves and vampires and other immortal things. It'll make up for me not giving them homework anyway." I grinned.

Draco looked at his shoes and started laughing. "Don't tell anyone though," I warned him and jabbed him in the chest.

He was still laughing, "No, no. Your secret's safe with me." and with that he gave me a wink and walked out the door.

I looked up at the clock and saw that I'd have some fifth years more than likely without Carrow in a few minutes. In all fairness though, that class wasn't so bad. I picked up my 'Jekyll and Hyde' book for a second time. I read a sentence of it and put it down yet again. I didn't feel like reading it, not anymore.

**Yes I made up the 'Adfico' spell thing. It means 'Difficult' in latin or something. Hope you liked this chapter though because it was so much fun writing it. **

**Also, for any star wars fans out there, I've made a forum called Drabble wars where winners get reviews and simply joining it will get you a review on whatever you want from me. **

**Anyway thanks for reading **


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6: Hogsmeade

The next morning was a Hogsmeade day trip. This was where students in third year and above were allowed to go to the pretty village of Hogsmeade on occasional days throughout the year. The students made a big deal about this event. I know because the fifth years wouldn't shut up about it yesterday in my class. The students also needed permission slips before they could go down to Hogsmeade.

As I was walking through the streets of Hogsmeade, I saw many shops with students crammed into them. Most of the students were in 'Zonko's joke shop' which was apparently closed last year but now it was booming with customers. I wasn't down here though to purchase some prank quills so I continued to walk on.

After a few minutes a walking I saw a nice looking Café called 'Madam Puddifoot's tea shop' so I decided to go into it and a bell above the door rang as I entered. The décor inside it was extremely lovey-dovey with frilly things everywhere. The place was rather empty as there were only two couples in here and only one of the pairs were students. I sat down near the back and before I had even gotten comfy a middle aged woman came to take my order. "Welcome to my tea shop honey. What can I get for you?"

"Some pumpkin juice and a cauldron cake please." She nodded and walked off behind the counter. I didn't know what they served here so I just ordered what one of the students had. The woman returned with the drink and cake and walked off. I took out my 'Jekyll and Hyde' book as I was near the end of it and wanted to finish it by the end of today.

While I was reading my book, the bell on the door rung so I looked up curiously to see who it was. I saw that it was Draco and he saw me too. Madam Puddifoot had walked over to Draco who was at the door to probably see what his order would be. He said something to her while keeping his eyes on me. When she walked off, he strolled over to me. "What are you doing in here?" he asked nicely while grabbing a seat and sitting opposite me.

I waved my book at him, "Needed abit a quiet time."

He nodded at it. "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, I've never heard of it before. Is it good?"

"Well it's a muggle classic. Thought I'd give it a shot, it's not too bad." He nodded again and the thought occurred to me, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh Crabbe and Goyle dumped me at Honeydukes. While I was looking for them I saw you in here so I thought I'd pop in."

"Oh," I said nonchalantly while placing my book on the table knowing all too well that I wouldn't make anymore progress anytime soon. "Any news you wanna tell me?" I smiled.

"Actually, I did abit of research on animagi last night and found out some interesting things."

I sat back in my seat. "I knew you guys would be all too tempted to do abit of meaningless studying. Ok, shoot". He seemed very eager and started talking.

"Well, I found out that there are only seven registered animagi of this century in Britain." I nodded at him in approval. "Are you registered?" he asked.

"Of course. You do know that being unregistered is an Azkaban sentence."

"Yeah, clearly Professor McGonagall is another registered one too. One of the books also said that animagi can only turn into one form which is determined by a wizards' personality and inner traits. Is that like a patronus charm?"

I was surprised at all this research he had done. Then again I bet a lot of seventh years did the same amount of studying last night. Only Draco had his facts straight on where to look. "Ya, it's always whatever your patronus is." Draco leaned over the table eagerly.

"So what's your patronus?"

I giggled at his cunning. "You're as subtle as a brick Draco." He sat back in his seat again. I sighed at him. "My patronus is a wolf," I stated and he sat up again.

"So your animagus form is a wolf?" I gave him a dramatic gasp with my hand over my mouth. "Yeah," I said lightly. Draco was obviously thinking about something and gave me a small grin. "Cool."

I decided to tease Draco abit and acted offended and started to rant. "Cool? I've been training to become an animagus all my life which is physically and mentally stressful. I can become an animal at my own will with or without a wand and all you can say is cool?" Dracos' smile was wiped clean off his face and he bowed his head in shame at his comment.

"Got'cha," and immediately he raised his head and saw me laughing.

He gave a light chuckle too. "You made me feel so bad you know."

"Oh, I know." Madam Puddifoot had just come over with Dracos' order which was strawberry and peanut-butter ice cream.

"So, how are you a wolf? You don't seem to be the type," he asked when Madam Puddifoot had gone back behind the counter.

"Well, it's not like I howl at the moon or anything. I guess in a sentence though I'm defensive, aggressive if needed, timid around people I don't know and bossy around those I do." He smiled and took a spoonful of his ice cream.

"You should hear what some of the students are saying about you," he smirked, "There positive you're a vampire."

"Shame my animagus form isn't a bat. It would freak them out so much," and we both chuckled. I looked at my watch and it was nearly five. "Speaking of students I better go back to Hogwarts. I've not got a clue on what I'm gonna teach you guys next class so I've got to try some things out." Draco seemed slightly disappointed but he quickly got rid of the look. It was so quick that I thought that I had imagined it _or hoped for it_.

"How about patonuses?" Draco asked. "Only the people who were in Dumbledore's army know how to cast a full patronus charm." I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Dumbledore had an army?"

He stared into his bowl softening the ice cream with his spoon. "Yeah."

I thought about it for a minute. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea and it would take about a week of classes anyway. "You know what Draco. I will, but don't tell anyone. It's another secret I want you to keep."

He smiled at me as I stood up to leave. "Will do". I smiled back at him, paid Madam Puddifoot eight sickles and left the tea shop.

It was slightly breezy outside and it was already getting dark as the winter was slowly closing in. Surprisingly, the majority of students were still here. I guess that they were taking every minute they could get. As I was walking up the various streets, I was thinking about how to teach them the patronus charm. It's difficult magic but since a few students already knew it, why not teach the rest. "Miss Lyons," I heard someone say.

I turned around and saw Mr Carrow jogging up to me. "How can I help you Professor?" I asked him.

"How can you help me? How about leaving Hogwarts for starters."

My jaw dropped. Where did all this come from? "Why should I leave?"

"Because, I know what you're doing to Draco and the rest of the students your teaching." I started to freak out. How did he know about why I was here? I doubt Dumbledore told anyone and Severus definitely didn't know.

"Sir, I don't know what you're on about-"

"-Don't lie to me witch. I know that you're working for the Order of the Phoenix and it'll only be a matter of time before the Dark Lord will have had enough of you."

I raised my eyebrows to him. I had completely lost him. He was obviously delusional or possibly had too much firewhiskey if he's saying I'm in league with a phoenix. "Look sir, I don't have a clue on what you're on about. Now if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to and I can't stay here with you arguing about me associating with birds."

I started to walk off when he grabbed my wrist and jabbed his wand into my back. "If you as much as twitch, I'll blast a hole through your chest," he whispered. His vile breath at my ear made me want to heave. "Sweetie, you're out of your league here. Go home and pretend that none of this had ever happened."

I was too scared to move but I didn't want Carrow to think I was vulnerable. "And if I don't?" I snarled but he gave an evil chuckle.

"Let's just say, I will personally cause you some unnecessary grief. And that will be before the Dark Lord finds out about your antics."

"Are you two ok professors?" the voice was music to my ears. Carrow hid his wand back in his pocket and we both turned to see Draco.

"Why yes Mr Malfoy. Now if you wouldn't mind; Miss Lyons and I have some business to attend to," said Carrow while he held my arm.

"Well Professor Lyons, you left this behind," said Draco taking my Jekyll and Hyde book out of his pocket.

"Oh thanks," I said as I shrugged Mr Carrow off me and he reluctantly let go, giving Draco a look to kill. I took my book off him and smiled, he gave me a reassuring yet caring look.

"Also, would you mind starting our tutoring now? Unless you and Professor Carrow have to do your business right-"

"-Oh it can wait," I said, giving Carrow a victorious look and without another word Professor Carrow stormed off into the three broomsticks.

"Are you ok?" Draco asked looking up and down to see if I was hurt.

"Don't worry about it. We were just talking about some Hufflepuffs acting abit wild-"

"-I saw him with his wand pointed into your back Sandra. What does he want?" I smiled at him trying to shrug off his assumption.

"It's nothing, just abit of a-"

"-Sandra"

I sighed at him. "I think… I think he's just abit annoyed that I took his post for defence class. Also I think he was abit drunk, probably didn't understand what he was doing." I knew that Draco didn't buy it but thankfully he dropped the subject for now anyway.

"Want me to walk you back to Hogwarts?" he asked and shrugged, "I'm going back anyway."

I thought about it for a second. "Sure, why not," I smiled and we both started walking towards the castle.

"Do you really want me to tutor you?" I asked slightly scared but luckily he chuckled.

"Nah just wanted a reason for you to ditch Carrow," and we both laughed. It made me realise that I never heard Draco laugh until he came to Hogwarts. I wondered if he laughed like this with his mates. I wondered if he even had mates. My heart fluttered the whole way back to Hogwarts and I knew deep down, that it wasn't because of Carrow and his threat.

**Ooooh exciting stuff **** Ok I'm havin abit of a writers block here because I'm doing two completely different HP fics at the same time. If anyone has an idea to take a chapter or two, put it by me. If you liked this story in any way, mind leaving a review? I need motivation **

**Also, for any star wars fans out there, I've made a forum called Drabble wars where winners get reviews and simply joining it will get you a review on whatever you want from me. **

**Anyway. Thanks for reading ****J**


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